“Yes, even with all of that.”
“Man,” she said, poking my nose. “You need better friends.”
“Maybe I do. But I’ve got you now, don’t I?”
“Yeah, you do. You’re officially the best ex-husband anyone could ask for.”
“Future ex-husband,” I corrected.
“Right, future ex-husband.” She looked like she was going to say something, but a wave of pain cut her off.
“Again already?” I asked.
She nodded, breathing hard. I knew from the past two that she her ability to talk waned as the contractions went on, so she wasn’t going to be much conversation for a bit.
So, I just held on, helping her ride through the pain however she could, whether that be with damp cloths to the forehead or swigs of water, or even just rubbing her shoulders and hands. It was tense, but we made it through that one. And the next one. And the next.
It didn’t escape me that they were coming closer and closer together. I couldn’t remember how claustrophobic they had to be before it was considered show time, but I was guessing we were there yet.
The nurses came in as they should, and the first two times Nicole and I would ask them if there had been any progress, but they told us that she hadn’t dilated much more so after that we stopped inquiring. We figured if there was news, they would tell us. For the time we were just along for the ride.
“James, can you help me sit up?” Nicole asked after two full hours of sweating, panting and generally being in terrible pain.
“Of course,” I answered, standing up and trying to stack pillows behind her. But as much as I piled them up, they seemed to slide to the side or fall off the bed. After a good ten minutes of struggle, I finally gave up.
Kicking my shoes off, I slid into bed behind her, pulling her back to rest against my chest. Her entire hospital grown was soaked through with sweat and I worried about her leaking out all of her electrolytes.
Oh right, she had the IV in her arm. Of course, the hospital was going to take care of her needs. That’s why we were here after all.
But as the contractions grew worse and worse and worse, it was easy to feel like we were all alone. Just the two of us in a very scary sea where our boat was going to capsize at any moment.
The nurses came in again, bending down to check on how Nicole was doing. This time we both could tell by her expression that something was different.
“It’s time?” Nicole asked, her head perking up from my chest.
“It’s time,” she said, nodding excitedly. “You get ready, I’ll go call the doctor!”
“Yeah, I’ll get ready,” Nicole countered. “As soon as you tell me what that entails.”
But she was already gone, leaving the two of us with the revelation that soon everything we had been preparing for would be coming to a head.
Literally.
Chapter Thirty-Six
~Nicole~
When the nurse’s head had first popped up and she said it was time, I didn’t believe her. How could it be time? I didn’t feel any different. There was no epiphany that my child was going to come out or that a small hole within my body had expanded ten times of its normal size.
But then another contraction hit me and suddenly I knew in every cell of my body that it was time.
“Oh God, James!”
“I’m here, I’m here!” He said, wrapping his arms around me. “What’s wrong?”
“I think the baby’s finally coming.”
“Yeah, I kinda put that together when the nurse ran out of here saying that it was time.”
“Oh yeah, you’re hilarious,” I shot back, in too much pain to enjoy his humor. “What I mean is that it finally feels like the baby is coming.”
“What, and all the cramping and groaning before was just a normal Thursday for you?”
“I know that you think you’re clever, but when I get out of this bed, I will show you how exactly un-clever you are.”
“Oh, will you now?”
“Yeah, I will.”
He was distracting me, that much I knew, but I was grateful for it. Anything to get my mind off of the ripping that was going through my lower half.
I heard rapid footsteps, then the doctor and nurses were coming in.
“Hello there, Miss Nicole, I hear that you’re fully dilated and ready to go!”
“Yes!” I cried. “Just get it out of me!”
“It? Now that’s not a great thing to call your future child.”
Who the hell did this doctor think he was? Sure, I was grateful for him being so cautious with my health up until this point, I wasn’t appreciative of his poking. “Save the lecture for someone who can handle pain medicine.” I snapped.
“Ah yes, I remember that now. Extreme susceptibility to narcotics. Bummer for you right?”
“Yeah, bummer.”
My temper was spiking and if I wasn’t so locked in pain, I might have gotten up and kicked him in the head. Hell, if my feet weren’t tucked up under me, I would have kicked him right then and there, especially since he was in the perfect position right between my legs.